Someone may know in depth better than I, but it is my understanding that he did some limited designs for them. It is also my understanding that his best known body of work, and the work I am familiar with, is for Hadeland of Norway.... I bought several early pieces (mid 50's) of his Hadeland work at an auction and learned about them, and him before I sold the pieces. Here are some examples... His Hadeland pieces were signed WJ Hadeland and the last 2 digits of the year...

Where did you find that Willy Johansson worked for Orrefors? I remember we talked about this before but I can't find the topic immediately. Neither can I find that in any of the Orrefors or Scandinavian books I have, which all state that he worked full time for Hadeland for most of his life. It doesn't look his work very much, either.

Interestingly, Modernistglass.com, who are pretty reliable, describe one of the pieces they sold this way:

"It's Swedish art glass from the town of Orrefors. This one isn't signed but a couple of other pieces in this design that we have owned (one in the same jet black) were signed and/or stickered FA.W.Johansson Orrefors. "FA" in Swedish stands for "Firm". The firm of W.Johansson was a business that bought and sold glass. We're not sure if it was only from Orrefors or from other glass factories and studios as well. Its founder was, a former hairdresser named W Johansson. They had their own engravers and marked most of the pieces that they sold with signatures and stickers."

Shineyobjects: if you could provide the number of the bottom, then we could see if it matches anything in the Orrefors output.

I have no idea what the CIS or C/S refers to, nor the PO or P0, although I wondered about "prototype". For Orerfors to have a full signature usually meant that it was a very limited edition - <50. It is not marked EA (which had from 2 to 5 in the run), nor is it marked 'Unik" - a one off marking, so it seems it may have been made in a run of 20 to 50. It is peculiar that it does not have a design number though. Good luck with your research - a really nice bit.

Ross

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I bamle all snileplg eorrrs on the Cpomuter Kyes. They confuse my fingers !!!

Did Orrefors have guest designers create limited editions? I haven't come across that in any of the books I've read. BTW, the biography of Johansson makes no mention of any time at Orrefors. Admittedly, the book is titled Willy Johansson og Hadeland Glassverk, but that reflects the fact that he worked only for Hadeland. I think the Modernistglass explanation, though perhaps it does not explain everything, is closer to the actual answer.